Filtration of a Pumped Hydrocarbon Containing Liquid

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for and method of filtering hydrocarbon contaminated water, which is used in a system requiring a pump to lift low lying hydrocarbon contaminated liquids from said pump through a filtration system which lifts and completely filters all debris and hydrocarbons from said liquid.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation-In-Part application claiming priority from applicants' U.S. application Ser. No. 10/284,516, filed on Oct. 30, 2002.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

DESCRIPTION OF ATTACHED APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an apparatus for and method of treating hydrocarbon contaminated water utilizing a hydrocarbon absorption media disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/227,654 herein incorporated by reference. The apparatus and method of the present invention results in an almost maintenance-free way of substantially removing hydrocarbons from water having sheen found in parking lots, and a preferred embodiment is adapted to prevent and contain hydrocarbon spills in containment areas for electrical transformers or oil tanks. This novel system is placed at the discharge of a pumping system rather than placed in drains feeding the system by gravity.

2. Description of Related Art

The problem involves separating hydrocarbon contaminated water that is removed from low lying locations, and that need to drain clean water to a higher elevation, so gravity feed of contaminated drain water through a filtration device will not work; consequently a pumping system must be used which is capable of filtering larger contaminated flows that are necessarily under much higher pressure than gravity fed hydrocarbon contaminated drain cleaning systems in the prior art.

Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for and method of active treatment of hydrocarbon contaminated water that needs to be pumped from low lying grades to higher elevations, and a system that can function under higher flows and pressures that result. Tthe hydrocarbon contaminated water is rendered substantially hydrocarbon-free for discharge into a stream or ground water.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The method of the patent is to allow water to be pumped under pressure through a pipe which is the holding devise that is filled with a media [hereinafter “SPI media”] referenced in applicant's parent application Ser. No. 10/284,516. The Pipes or holding vessels can be round, square or virtually any shape. The vessels must have an inlet and an outlet to allow water to enter and exit. The vessels can be just straight on the inside packed with SPI media, but I have found oil can escape down the sides of the vessels under pressure if there is not a blocking mechanism along the side that directs the water/oil water mix/oil back in towards the center of the vessel. It has also been found that having a funnel on the beginning of the vessel into the medias center is also beneficial. The invention can have a second funnel on the inside redirecting the liquid back into the center of the vessel. The sides of the vessel are sprayed with an adhesive and media is applied to the side of the vessel. This allows a rough surface but also provides some absorption and bonding to the side of the vessel.

The liquid is pumped into the vessel under pressure, due to the blockage in the vessel from the media the liquid is slowed down considerably and filters low levels of hydrocarbons from the liquid. As the hydrocarbons in the liquid increases the flow rate under pressure continually slows as more hydrocarbons are absorbed and trapped in the filtration media. Example in a 4″ diameter pipe X 18″-24″ long the media will allow water flow of up to 6 gallons per minute with a sump pump capably of a flow of up to 24-72 gallons per minute unrestricted. In an oil discharge the media will fully absorb totally sealing even under pressure for over 1 hour providing a permanent seal.

The vessels have been constructed and tested to find the best inside configuration to provide flow through of water, water/oil mixtures and to stop straight oil. Each vessel has an entry way for the liquid with different configurations on the inside so as the liquid enters the vessel under pressure and without having rings and funnels on the inside of the vessel potentially oil in a large release could escape down the sides of the vessel. By installing rings and funnels on the inside of the vessel allows the liquid that is being pumped under pressure to be forced inward into the media which then allows the liquid to then again disperse thorough out the vessel again. The liquid will then be forced back in to the center of the vessel again and this can continue throughout the vessel as many times as necessary to stop all oil flow under pressure. The media is designed to absorb, dissolve and tackify when exposed to hydrocarbons, when under pressure different Medias with different concentrations of flow enhancers are used to keep the flow rate up and towards the end of the vessel before discharge less enhancers are used.

In the invention different pumps can be used with different pressures applied in the filter pipe entering into the media. As water/oil mixture is pumped into the vessel as the oil is absorbed the pressure will rise as more oil is absorbed the flow will start to decrease as the pressure rises a pressure switch can be used to stop the pump therefore shutting down the discharge. The pumps can also be outfitted with a timed on/off feature that has to be manually reset to start the pump. The main purpose is to allow a secure pumping system of water, water/oil mixture in very low to high concentrations, to straight oil with complete shut down and no oil release even under pressure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the invention believed to be novel and the elements characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The figures are for illustration purposes only and are not drawn to scale the invention itself, however, both as to organization and method of operation, may best be understood by reference to the detailed description which follows taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is another view of the embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A vessel containing polymer media [hereinafter “SPI media”] referenced in applicant's parent application Ser. No. 10/284,516 put into a removable cartridge that has a pump from a containment source that has a oil holding tank, vessel or transformer that collects rainwater in an outdoor environment/or maintenance in an indoor water application where oil could appear in water, a bilge in a ship etc. The vessel has an inner housing and is a holding container for the media that is used as a cartridge to allow pumped water from an outside source pumped into the vessel. The vessel will have an inlet for the water to be pumped into and an outlet to discharge the water after it has filtered through the SPI media. The media has the ability to remove oil sheens and oil from small spills without shut off or release of any hydrocarbons after the liquid has passed through the media. In an oil overload the media absorbs the hydrocarbons and tackafies becoming a total solid shutting down any flow through the media. The liquid level on the inside of the vessel will start to rise to the return valve and discharge any liquid back into the containment area. This prevents any oil from escaping from the vessel after the media is absorbed with hydrocarbons and shuts any discharge through the media. The pump is shut down upon discovery of the hydrocarbon overload and is disconnected. The vessel is cleaned and the cartridge is replaced with a new one and put back into service. The vessel can be made from plastic, HDPE, steel etc. and can be used in small application with an aquarium pump to industrial high volume water pump. The top of the vessel is removable to access the cartridge and will also have removable dirt and debris filters that will sit above the cartridge. These filters will capture any dirt and sediment before it contaminates the cartridge. An external water filter can also be used with the inlet hose prior to the holding vessel; this water filter will be able to pre filter the water prior to entering the vessel, the filtration cartridges for the water filter can be changed similar to a home water filtration unit.

A vessel is designed to allow water to discharge from a floating roof tank. Floating roof tanks are in tank farms around the world they can sink down to as low as four (4) feet to as high as sixty (60) feet when full of oil. These roof tops typically have seals to prevent any oil from escaping but can burp causing small amounts of oil to large volumes to escape onto the roof top. Each roof top has a water drain in the center of the tank connected to a discharge hose usually 3″ in diameter that runs the entire height of the roof and collapse as the roof lowers. The rain water needs to discharge and most tank farms do not have containment for this application. The invention uses the SPI media in different vessels to provide total containment in the event of a straight oil spill.

A vessel similar to the pump through pipe is used on a larger scale with a larger diameter. The problem that exists is the amount of pressure as the elevation of the drain rises without discs on the inside of the vessel the pressure will force the hydrocarbons down the side of the vessel and fail. In our first attempts with just the use of discs failed. We then used a corrugated pipe from top to bottom along with discs which forced the oil inward and back towards the center by adding discs to the corrugated vessel forces the liquid even further into the center of the media. In our test from 10 feet we have been successful in stopping the oil. What we found with the corrugated pipe is if we did not structurally hold the pipe down from expanding from the pressure it would expand providing the media on the inside of the vessel to be compromised. Before oil was added the vessel was strapped down and any further expansion was stopped. The water went down to the bottom of the vessel through a pipe and up to the top and enter on the top forcing the water/oil/straight oil down vertically. Another novel approach is to have the water enter the vessel on the bottom and have to rise up through the media and discharge through the top. The vessel can be various heights and built out of different materials.

While the present invention has been particularly described, in conjunction with a specific preferred embodiment, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will embrace any such alternatives, modifications and variations as falling within the true scope and spirit of the present invention. 

1. A system for removing hydrocarbons from a pumped hydrocarbon contaminated liquid comprising: A vessel containing polymer media [hereinafter “SPI media”] referenced in applicant's parent application Ser. No. 10/284,516 put into a removable cartridge that has a pump from a containment source that has a oil holding tank, vessel or transformer that collects rainwater in an outdoor environment/or maintenance in an indoor water application where oil could appear in water, a bilge in a ship, said vessel has an inner housing and is a holding container for the media that is used as a cartridge to allow pumped water from an outside source pumped into the vessel, said vessel will have an inlet for the water to be pumped into and an outlet to discharge the water after it has filtered through the SPI media, said media has the ability to remove oil sheens and oil from small spills without shut off or release of any hydrocarbons after the liquid has passed through the media, in an oil overload the media absorbs the hydrocarbons and tackafies becoming a total solid shutting down any flow through the media, he liquid level on the inside of the vessel will start to rise to the return valve and discharge any liquid back into the containment area, thereby preventing any oil from escaping from the vessel after the media is absorbed with hydrocarbons and shuts any discharge through the media, said pump is shut down upon discovery of the hydrocarbon overload and is disconnected, said vessel is cleaned and the cartridge is replaced with a new one and put back into service, said vessel can be made from plastic, HDPE, steel or similar material, and can be used in small application with an aquarium pump to industrial high volume water pump, the top of the vessel is removable to access the cartridge and will also have removable dirt and debris filters that will sit above the cartridge, said filters will capture any dirt and sediment before it contaminates the cartridge, an external water filter can also be used with the inlet hose prior to the holding vessel; this water filter will be able to pre filter the water prior to entering the vessel, the filtration cartridges for the water filter can be changed similar to a home water filtration unit. 